The east Vancouver native now has won two of hockey's biggest prizes in his hometown. First it was the CHL's Memorial Cup as a member of the Vancouver Giants. Now, the granddaddy of them all, the Stanley Cup.
This much we do know: No player in recent memory can make such a claim.
“I never thought about it like that, but that's really something and I'm just really privileged to play for two great organizations,” said Lucic, moments after the Boston Bruins defeated the Vancouver Canucks' 3-0 in Game 7 of the NHL's championship final at Rogers Arena on Wednesday. “It's unbelievable. It's funny … it's a dream season, an even better playoff and to win it in my hometown, local boy, you can't explain what I'm feeling right now.”
In 2007, Lucic had a shift so legendary, you had to be at the Pacific Coliseum that May night to believe it. Three teeth-rattling, body-numbing hits followed by a fight of epic proportions. Sixty seconds so outrageous, the rest of the game is a mere blur. The Giants never looked back after Lucic's first-period onslaught, cruising to a 3-1 victory over the Medicine Hat Tigers in the Memorial Cup final.
“I still talk with a lot of the guys with the Giants and Don Hay, Scott Bonner and Ron Toigo made me the person I am today and I can't think them enough,” said Lucic. “Same goes for my parents, good thing my mom works for Air Canada so they could come out everywhere and see me play. Even in the Serbian community, I know they were watching all the games at the hall on Canada Way. And my buddies from high school ... I can't wait to share this with all of them.”
Unlike the Memorial Cup, Lucic wasn't the difference in the Stanley Cup final. Then again, he didn't have to be. Not with Tim Thomas in goal and a team dedicated to one cause in front of the Conn Smythe-winning goaltender. The 23-year-old finished the series with two goals and an assist to give him five goals and 12 points in the post-season.
Lucic led the Bruins in scoring with 30 goals and 62 points in 79 regular-season games.
"He's been big for us in a lot of ways," said linemate Nathan Horton, who missed the final four games of the series with a concussion. "He's just a guy that works so hard for everything and it motivates you to do the same. I'm sure this is amazing for him. How many guys get to win the Stanley Cup in their hometown?"Lucic was joined on the ice by his mom and dad, Snezana and Dobro Lucic, along with brothers Jovan and Nikola. The five posed for pictures, only after Milan hoisted his mom off her feet in a big bear hug.
“We're so proud, so proud,” said Dobro, a longshoreman who immigrated to Vancouver when he was 27. “He's worked so hard for this.”
Lucic went undrafted as a bantam and started his junior career with the BCHL's Coquitlam Express before making his debut with the Giants for the final regular-season game of the 2004-05 season. He made the WHL club the next year, helping the team to its first Memorial Cup appearance. That summer, he was selected 50th overall by the Bruins in the 2006 entry draft. After leading the Giants in scoring in his final season — and being anointed the team's next captain — he then went and surprised everyone by making the Bruins as a 19-year-old.
"All of us within the organization are just so happy for Looch," said Giants general manager Scott Bonner. "Milan personifies everything it means to be a Giant. He's worked hard to get to where he is and should be an inspiration to all young hockey players out there. He deserves everything he's enjoying right now."Wednesday marked Lucic's 104th game of the season. He was limited to 50 games last year, due to various injuries.
“This is the most hockey I've ever played in my entire life,” said Lucic, who played 96 games the year the Giants won the Memorial Cup. “It's truly unbelievable … everything I went through last year made me better as a person and better as a player and I came in wanting to have fun again and look at me now.”
And to think, Lucic could have had the holy trinity of hockey championships. He attended Team Canada's summer orientation camp in 2009, but finger and ankle injuries early in the season took him out of the running for the 2010 gold-medal Olympic squad.
This much we do know: No player in recent memory can make such a claim.
“I never thought about it like that, but that's really something and I'm just really privileged to play for two great organizations,” said Lucic, moments after the Boston Bruins defeated the Vancouver Canucks' 3-0 in Game 7 of the NHL's championship final at Rogers Arena on Wednesday. “It's unbelievable. It's funny … it's a dream season, an even better playoff and to win it in my hometown, local boy, you can't explain what I'm feeling right now.”
In 2007, Lucic had a shift so legendary, you had to be at the Pacific Coliseum that May night to believe it. Three teeth-rattling, body-numbing hits followed by a fight of epic proportions. Sixty seconds so outrageous, the rest of the game is a mere blur. The Giants never looked back after Lucic's first-period onslaught, cruising to a 3-1 victory over the Medicine Hat Tigers in the Memorial Cup final.
“I still talk with a lot of the guys with the Giants and Don Hay, Scott Bonner and Ron Toigo made me the person I am today and I can't think them enough,” said Lucic. “Same goes for my parents, good thing my mom works for Air Canada so they could come out everywhere and see me play. Even in the Serbian community, I know they were watching all the games at the hall on Canada Way. And my buddies from high school ... I can't wait to share this with all of them.”
Unlike the Memorial Cup, Lucic wasn't the difference in the Stanley Cup final. Then again, he didn't have to be. Not with Tim Thomas in goal and a team dedicated to one cause in front of the Conn Smythe-winning goaltender. The 23-year-old finished the series with two goals and an assist to give him five goals and 12 points in the post-season.
Lucic led the Bruins in scoring with 30 goals and 62 points in 79 regular-season games.
"He's been big for us in a lot of ways," said linemate Nathan Horton, who missed the final four games of the series with a concussion. "He's just a guy that works so hard for everything and it motivates you to do the same. I'm sure this is amazing for him. How many guys get to win the Stanley Cup in their hometown?"Lucic was joined on the ice by his mom and dad, Snezana and Dobro Lucic, along with brothers Jovan and Nikola. The five posed for pictures, only after Milan hoisted his mom off her feet in a big bear hug.
“We're so proud, so proud,” said Dobro, a longshoreman who immigrated to Vancouver when he was 27. “He's worked so hard for this.”
Lucic went undrafted as a bantam and started his junior career with the BCHL's Coquitlam Express before making his debut with the Giants for the final regular-season game of the 2004-05 season. He made the WHL club the next year, helping the team to its first Memorial Cup appearance. That summer, he was selected 50th overall by the Bruins in the 2006 entry draft. After leading the Giants in scoring in his final season — and being anointed the team's next captain — he then went and surprised everyone by making the Bruins as a 19-year-old.
"All of us within the organization are just so happy for Looch," said Giants general manager Scott Bonner. "Milan personifies everything it means to be a Giant. He's worked hard to get to where he is and should be an inspiration to all young hockey players out there. He deserves everything he's enjoying right now."Wednesday marked Lucic's 104th game of the season. He was limited to 50 games last year, due to various injuries.
“This is the most hockey I've ever played in my entire life,” said Lucic, who played 96 games the year the Giants won the Memorial Cup. “It's truly unbelievable … everything I went through last year made me better as a person and better as a player and I came in wanting to have fun again and look at me now.”
And to think, Lucic could have had the holy trinity of hockey championships. He attended Team Canada's summer orientation camp in 2009, but finger and ankle injuries early in the season took him out of the running for the 2010 gold-medal Olympic squad.
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